GCSU men’s tennis player Rodrigo Pérez Crespo was named the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week for the week of March 10.
Crespo went 2-0 in singles and 1-1 in doubles as the 50th-ranked Bobcats won against Young Harris College and North Greenville University.
Following the contests, Crespo improved to 6-2 in dual match singles and 6-1 in dual match doubles.
Since the contest at North Greenville, GCSU has gone 4-0 in competitions against No. 37 Augusta University, Delta State University, No. 46 Spring Hill College and Tuskegee University.
GCSU has improved to an 11-1 overall record and a 1-0 conference record since the win over Augusta and is currently on a six-game winning streak.
“I think, as a team, we’re doing pretty well, especially coming from last season with a lot of injuries; the luck wasn’t on our side,” Crespo said. “We’re putting all the pieces together, trying to find a way to help each other in practice and during the matches. It’s time to focus on the conference now. It’s the most important part of the season, and I hope we can do well in that.”
Before the season began, there was a noticeable divide in roster structure, with a third of the team being new from the previous year. As a junior entering his third year on the tennis courts, a leadership role needed to be developed to help these new GCSU athletes.
“You’ve got to play that role of being a leader of the team, of helping everyone and trying to get the best version of everyone,” Crespo said.
Crespo started hot to open the spring season, winning four of his six singles contests throughout February, accumulating three bagels, or winning a set 6-0, and not needing a third set in three of the wins.
On the doubles side of the numbers, Crespo partnered with teammate junior Chase Martin to go undefeated in February.
Crespo and the Bobcats then faced off against the Young Harris College Mountain Lions and North Greenville University Trailblazers. These contests earned him Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week honors.
“I was not expecting it, especially in our conference,” Crespo said. “There are a lot of good teams and players, and I’m not the type of guy who is always looking at the stats and results. At the end of the day, if you put in the work, you’re going to see results, and I couldn’t have won it if the team didn’t win those two matches during that week.”
To open his day against Young Harris, Crespo partnered with Martin. However, the two could not get the job done and finished with a loss to end their perfect streak.
Since his award-winning performances against Young Harris and North Greenville, Crespo has won six of his seven last matches, with the only loss coming from a close doubles match against Spring Hill.
For the remainder of the season, GCSU is set for four more competitions: an away series against Flagler College on April 4, two consecutive home stands against Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and the University of North Georgia on April 8 and 12, respectively, and a final contest against Columbus State University on Wednesday, April 16.
This final stretch of the season is crucial to the Bobcats. Currently, the men’s tennis team sits amid a four-way tie for first place with the 10-2 Bearcats, 7-3 Nighthawks and 8-7 Cougars. As always, every game in the Peach Belt will be challenging, so the Bobcats are looking to lock things down for the final month and push for the Peach Belt Conference Tournament.